🍩 Happy National Donut Day from ROI Solutions! 🍩
A little-known secret, we have an ROI Krispy Kreme donut mascot who has resided in a Tiffany glass box since 2004. You read that correctly. 2004.
Over time, it has petrified. It is taken out of its display case in Gina VanderLoop‘s desk only on National Donut Day for ceremonial viewing. It is handled with awe, reverence, and the supernatural respect it deserves. Imagine a ceremony not unlike the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
In a recent interview, “The Donut,” reflected on its history and observations over its time as an important member of the ROI Solutions team. Here’s some anecdotes first-hand directly from the glass box:
It all began in Medford, Massachusetts. I was just a young donut then — golden, glazed, still warm from the fryer at Krispy Kreme. I had no idea I would soon be thrust into a legacy of purpose, data, and technology. My sugary surface trembled the day I was plucked not for breakfast, but for destiny.
If you couldn’t tell, I’m no ordinary donut. I represent everything ROI Solutions stands for and have invaluable wisdom to share from my 21 years at a company working to change the nonprofit landscape.
In 2004, ROI Solutions acquired me. Not just metaphorically. Literally. Someone — we’ll call them a visionary — took me from the display case and enshrined me inside a Tiffany glass jewelry box, where I’ve been safely preserved ever since. This was no ordinary act of confectionery worship. This was a declaration: ROI Solutions would do things differently. And do them differently, they did.
Over the last 21 years, ROI Solutions didn’t just grow its client list — it grew a community. I’ve watched from my display post as the team partnered with some of the biggest names in progressive philanthropy and advocacy. We became known for powering:
🍩 National fundraising programs: ROI Solutions empowers large-scale, nationwide campaigns—like public media drives and international advocacy efforts—by building tailored CRMs and automating multi-channel fundraising programs across email, direct mail, events, and more. Whether fueling our public media stations in collaboration with CDP, Human Rights Campaign, or National Trust for Historic Preservation’s fundraising systems, we ensure seamless nationwide appeal.
🍩 Grassroots mobilization efforts: Whether you’re rallying local volunteers or triggering advocacy actions, ROI delivers integrated outreach through Ignite Marketing and Unite Analytics. These tools enable pinpoint targeting and messaging to specific communities, bridging data and action—crucial for social justice and environmental campaigns.
🍩 Monthly giving strategies: ROI automates sustainer programs—recovering lapsed gifts, nurturing recurring donors, and streamlining giving journeys. Our platforms Revolution CRM and MiLo Intelligence work to identify and recapture up to 10% of annual donations through automated sustainer tools.
🍩 Complex segmentation and modeling: Using Unite Analytics and MiLo Intelligence, ROI helps clients break data silos, unify constituent info, and apply machine learning for precise audience segmentation. This empowers “smart segmentation” to identify hidden donor opportunities and optimize campaigns.
🍩 Groundbreaking data analytics: Unite Analytics offers a nonprofit-tailored data “lakehouse” with real-time dashboards, identity resolution, cross-department insights, financial forecasting, and performance measurement. Plus, Data Management Services powers analyses, campaign pull execution, reporting, and ongoing client support.
But we also supported the scrappy startups, the local change agents, the experimental thinkers. ROI’s technology scaled up or down, depending on the mission, not the market value. That flexibility made us indispensable.
All the while, the team remained humble, possibly because their mascot was a donut in a jewelry box. Hard to get too self-important when your corporate talisman is edible.
I may not have aged — sugar is a natural preservative, you know — but I’ve watched ROI Solutions evolve with grace. From small roots in Massachusetts to a distributed team of experts, from a single CRM to a dynamic ecosystem of products and partnerships.
Yet, the soul of ROI has never changed. The Tiffany box may be a metaphor now — for the care they take, the clarity they seek, and the preciousness of the missions they support — but I remain its original inhabitant. And proud of it. Let’s Talk.
